The Secret that Lies Within
by flyerchic
Summary: A crime scene, some drama and I am not going to spoil the rest! E/C all the way! * CHAPTER 8 NOW UP! * Again, sorry for the wait!
1. What Just Happened?

**I DO NOT OWN ANY CHARACTERS OR MIAMI. BUT I WISH I OWNED BOTH!**

The Miami sun was shining through the window of the Hummer on this calm afternoon. Neither one had really said much on the drive to the crime scene. They didn't have to. They were beyond the point of awkward silences.

"Thanks again for the lift," Calleigh said with a punishing smile that made Eric's heart skip a beat.

"You can repay me later," Eric laughed as they both exited the vehicle.

They walked down a small sloping hill into a wooded area marked off with yellow crime scene tape.

"What do we have?" Calleigh asked Horatio as they approached the body.

"Single gun shot wound," he replied, in the way that only Horatio can.

"Ummm Horatio, how long ago was this called in?" Dr. Price questioned.

"About an hour ago, why?"

"That's impossible. His liver temp is 101 and his body is in the shade. Horatio this JUST happened…"

That was all the CSI's needed to hear as they put their hands on their guns and started surveying the area.

"Okay," Calleigh started "based off the trajectory path…just an estimate at best…" she looked around the wooded area, "The shooter was probably over there." She was pointing to a thicker part of the woods, a part that eventually leads down to a waterway.

Eric immediately walked down the small hill towards the thicker forest as Calleigh and Horatio walked in the other directions.

Horatio stopped and turned to Dr. Price

"Mr. Wolfe should be here soon Ask him to stay with you and help you photograph the area. If you see anything…" he stopped an threw her a handgun that he pulled from his leg holster.

"Will do." She replied

Eric was walking through the woods, a rare sight on the outskirts of Miami. There were many marshlands, everglades and swamps, but very few wooded areas. He was thinking about this to himself when a loud noise suddenly jolted him back. He moved quickly placing his back against a tree and his gun in the ready position.

"ERIC!" He heard Horatio call.

He looked around for a second then took off running back towards the crime scene.

When he got there, however, he saw that the body had been dragged away and no one else was around.

"ERIC," he heard again.

He saw out movement out of the corner of his eye and noticed that something behind the bush was moving. He once again drew his gun up and crept slowly over to the bush. He held his breath as he slowly lifted his head over the bush to see what caused the disturbance.

"Tara?" he said with a question in his voice.

"I saw someone coming from that direction that I didn't know, so I hid," she said, almost like a child apologizing to her parent.

"Where's H? Calleigh? The body?" Eric pushed.

"I heard someone come up and some noise and then…..nothing," she replied.

He threw her the keys to the Hummer.

"Get inside, lock the door and stay down. We don't know what we're dealing with here."

"ERIC?" Horatio's voice called out again.

He took off running towards the sound of his voice.

"H!" he yelled back.

This was turning into a game of Marco Polo in the woods. He was running fast but his heart was racing faster. Then he spotted them.

There was a man standing with his back against a tree, blood rushing from his leg. Horatio had his gun solidly trained on the mans neck from a few feet away. Then he saw her. She was laying propped against Horatios legs. She was pale. Her breathing looked labored. He ran over to her faster then he had ever run before.

"Calleigh what happened?"

"She's in and out of consciousness," Horatio started.

"You get her, I got him."

Eric needed no more instructions than that as he scooped her off the ground and started walking as sure footedly as he could back to the vehicles.

"I already called the paramedics, they should be here already"

Eric wasn't really listening, he was just staring at her lifeless body in his arms.

"H, what happened?" Eric questioned.

"The police should be arriving soon for him as well," Horatio continued.

"H WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?" he almost shouted.

"I don't know," he replied, almost serenely.

As they reached the site where the body was found, Horatio noticed the drag marks in the ground and the notable fact that the body was gone.

"Eric. I think this was a set up."

But Eric barely heard him. He started to fidget for his keys when he realized he had given them to Tara. But she heard their voices and opened the door to the vehicle and he placed Calleigh in the back seat.

"Whats wrong with her?" she asked innocently.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Eric yelled back as he turned the Hummer on. He saw the look on her face and apologized.

"I'm sorry, but I don't…I don't know." His voice trailed off.

"Well I _am_ a Doctor," she replied coldly.

Just then Calleigh started to regain consciousness.

"Calleigh? Calleigh can you hear me?" Tara asked; taking her vitals as best she could without any tools.

Calleigh muttered something incoherent and her eyes closed again.

"Calleigh stay with me, wake up…" she went on, trying to get her to keep her eyes open so she could check her pupils.

"We're almost at the hospital. How is she?" Eric asked, almost barking at Tara.

"She's weak and there is a substance on the side of her mouth…maybe she vomited, maybe she was given something….look we won't know 'till we get here there so DRIVE!"

Eric hit the gas pedal a little harder then before, and he though it had been floored already.

They arrived at the hospital and Eric ran inside the ER almost screaming for help.

Some nurses came out with a stretcher Tara helped ease her into it, telling them everything she knew. Horatio pulled up just behind them but was speechless.

A million thoughts fluttered through Eric's mind at one time. Did he see what happened to her? Could he have stopped it? Did he try and fail? What was going on?

He snapped back to reality when he saw they were ready to move the stretcher into the hospital. He ran up and held her hand and was shocked when she squeezed it back.

"Cal, baby are you awake?"

She barely spoke trying to make sense of what was going on.

"Ms! Ms. I need some information from you," one of the nurses started, squeezing her way in between the two.

Eric held her hand as they wheeled her off an elevator into another hallway, not completely paying attention to what was going on.

"Are you allergic to anything?" the nurse asked and she whispered "no."

"Were you feeling sick recently?"

"..N…no" her response was barely audible.

"Any chance you could be pregnant?"

"Yes…"

Eric heard that, let go of her hand and stopped, just staring at the gaggle of people surrounding her as they turned the corner into a room. What had just happened?


	2. De ja vu

Eric just stood in the hallway, his feet unable to move him any further. His brain was racing and everything started to go blurry. _Snap out of it_, he thought, _she needs you right now. _He took a deep breath and started walking the path that her stretcher had just taken. He turned the corner to find that she was no where in sight. He walked up to a reception desk to ask where she was.

"Excuse me, do you know where Calleigh D-"

"The female officer?" the young nurse interrupted him.

"...Yeah, do you know where they took her?" he asked tentatively.

"Yup, around the corner, fourth room on the right will be hers. They have her in for some testing at the moment though."

"Thanks" he replied.

"But sir, we only allow family on this floor to visit-" This time it was his turn to cut him off.

"Yeah, I'm family alright" he answered cooly as he walked away.

He turned the corner down the next hallway in the maze known as the hospital and counted the doors to find her room. The door was slightly ajar, so he took yet another deep breath and walked inside. He saw one empty bed and an elderly women in the bed across the room.

"Sorry," he said when he realized he disturbed the woman.

"S'okay. I am sure you are not here to see me." she said with a laugh.

"Uhhh... no ma'am, I'm not." Eric answered.

"So that means I am getting a roommate," she surmised.

"Yeah they said she would be here..." But as he was finishing his sentence, he heard the sound of rolling wheels and he spun around to see them bringing in an unconscious Calleigh.

"How is she?" Eric asked.

"Sorry sir" the young man said and Eric's heart almost stopped before the nurse could get the rest of the words out.

"I'm just the transiting nurse...just bringing her to her room. Her Doctor should be here in a few minutes when the test results come in. His name is... Dr. Wheaton."

"Thanks" Eric said with a huge sigh of relief and a now-beating heart.

Two more nurses entered the room and moved Calleigh from the stretcher to the bed. They checked all her IV's and wrote down some notes, and just as quickly as it had all happened, he was alone in the room with her. Well, alone minus her elderly roommate.

Eric pulled up a chair next to her bed, and took her hand in his. He looked at her laying there; she looked so beautiful sleeping. He closed his eyes for a second and when he opened them, he was back in the hospital room at Mercy, after Calleigh had suffered from smoke inhalation. He slowly blinked again, bringing him back to reality.

"This is de-ja-vu, Cal, its surreal. You in a hospital bed, me watching you, wondering what is going to happen. So many questions...."

"I have an answer" Dr. Wheaton brightly chimed in as he made his way closer to Eric. He stood up and reluctantly released his grasp on her to shake the doctors hand.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Marc Wheaton."

"Eric Delko," he said, secretly praying that the doctor wouldn't pry.

"Well Mr. Delko, Calleigh here took quite a hit! It looks like the side of her head here took a fairly severe impact and she must have broken her wrist and a few ribs on the fall. Normally these things aren't serious, but for a woman in her condition-"

"Her condition?" Eric questioned sharply.

"Yeah, the pregnancy," Dr. Wheaton spilled out before realizing the shocked look on Eric's face.

"You...didn't know..... did you?" the doctor asked hesitantly, searching Eric's eyes for answers.

"No, I didn't." Eric said firmly, emotion building in his voice. He looked over at Calleigh for the first time since the doctor had entered the room to see her eyes were open and tears were streaming down her face.

"I didn't mean for you to find out like this," she whispered before her eyes closed and she started to sob. He went over to the bed and wrapped his arms around her, careful not to hurt her.

"I'm sorry, I jus-" she couldn't even finish her sentence between sobs.

"Shhh....its okay Cal," he said trying to calm her down. He ran his hands very carefully down her long blonde hair.

"Dr., could we have a minute?" Eric asked, remembering he was still standing in the room.

"Actually, we need to take care of that wrist before she moves it the wrong way and does anymore damage. But when I'm done, you can have all the time you want."

Eric pulled back from her and took her face in his hands.

"I'm going to tell H about your injuries. We'll talk when I get back. I love you"

"I love you too," she said weakly. He kissed her forehead and just smiled at her for a second before he got up and let the doctor look at her wrist.

**A/N: I have one of those jobs where I have some down time here and there, I promise, if readers like this, I will update the next time I am bored at work! And THANK YOU to everyone who read the story, but especially those who left reviews...thank you! =)**


	3. Pieces of the Puzzle

Eric walked out of the hospital room still a bit confused. He put his back against the wall and rubbed his eyes with his hands. So much had happened in the last few hours. So much that it was making his head spin and he started to feel a bit dizzy. He started to think about what to tell Horatio. He knew he could trust him with his life, but he and Calleigh had never come clean with him about their relationship. And now she could be pregnant? What was he going to tell him? _Sorry we have been lying to you for the last 6 months? Maybe you figured it out already, but if not…_ no he couldn't do that, at least not without talking to Calleigh about it. He decided to just tell him about her injuries and wait until he had the chance to sit and talk with Calleigh about the rest. With his mind made up, he walked down the hall in search of him.

"Hey," Eric said calmly as he entered the waiting area.

"Eric" Horatio greeted him, picking his head up from the floor to look at Eric.

"How is she?"

"H…she has a concussion, a broken wrist and a few broken ribs. Thankfully, that's it" Eric lied to him, hoping he wouldn't see right through him. And it worked, for now.

"I saw Mr. Riggs hit her in the head with the gun but what I don't know is how he caught up to her."

"Riggs, is that the guy you shot? Maybe he was hiding in the bushes, it was a fairly covered area and we had no uniform protection there-" Eric offered as a response.

"Yes Eric, but he had help. Someone made a fake 911 call…someone shot our victim…and someone took the body," Horatio recounted dramatically, taking a breath between each phrase.

"Maybe it was Riggs that shot him and made the call." Eric replied, hoping that talking about the case would keep Horatio from asking more about Calleigh.

"Tara tested his hands for GSR after he was admitted. It was negative Eric. He's not our shooter."

"Okay, so what DO we know?" Eric asked a bit irritated at the lack of information.

"What we do know is we will catch this guy. That's what we do know."

"What do you need me to do?" Eric inquired, hoping Horatio would say to stay and protect Calleigh. That was all he wanted to do right now, was be with her. Hold her and comfort her and talk about the HUGE 500 pound elephant in the room.

"Ryan is getting the tapes from 911 dispatch to compare them to what is transmitted over our frequency in our vehicles. Natalia and Trip are back at the crime scene searching the area. We need to find that shooter Eric."

"-Wait, the 911 tapes, H you really think this was a set up?"

"I do Eric."

Eric just stood there with a puzzled look on his face, trying to piece together the events at the crime scene. He remembered telling Calleigh that she could "repay him later" and his mind had started racing at all the things _that_ could mean. The next few minutes after that had been a blur until Tara said that the body was fresh.

"So the 911 call was placed before the crime happened? H, did we walk into an ambush?

"That's what we need to find out. I want you to go back to the scene, re-trace our steps. See if you can give them any helpful information."

"Okay, I am going to make sure Calleigh doesn't need anything else and then I am there."

Horatio nodded his head in approval, and Eric thought he might have just let the cat out of the bag. But Horatio was focused on the case as well as worried about her, so he once again, didn't notice.

Eric walked back to Calleigh's room to find her sleeping peacefully, her wrist in an air-cast and she was covered in a small blanket. She really was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen…but he hated seeing her like this. _How could anyone do this to her?_ The thought made him angry and reminded him of what he had come here to do.

"Cal, I have to go…I have to go back to the crime scene. But I promise when this is all over…" his cheeks blushed and his eyes glistened at the thought of what he was about to say.

"I promise… when this is over, we'll talk about our baby." A huge smile spread across his flushed face as he said the words.

"Right now, I need to find the person that did this to you. That did this to us."

He looked up from her peaceful face to see the woman on the other side of the room practically falling out of her bed, straining to hear every word that he was saying.

"Ma'am?" Eric said with a raised eyebrow.

"Please, call me Elma!" she said with a huge southern draw, a little teary eyed herself.

"Ms. Elma, if she wakes up-"

"She'll wake up in a few hours dear. I heard the doctor tell her he was gonna give her some of that there sleepin' stuff. Said it would help with the pain and all. And he said it was safe." She told him, cutting him off.

"Thanks, that's a relief" Eric said looking back at his sleeping Calleigh. Then he did something he had done once before. Just like at Mercy, he took off his watch and placed it around her good wrist, lacing his fingers with hers for a moment. He smiled with a small tear forming in his eye, kissed her forehead and released her hand. Now it was time to switch gears. It was time to put the pieces together.

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**A/N: So I know there isn't a lot of Fluffy stuff here, but I am working my way up to it…trying to keep it real…j/k. I already know where this is going to go, so the rest of this should come fairly easily…meaning it will be updated again soon!!! Thanks to all of my reviewers. You're great!**

p.s. i've had this story for days, but was unable to log-in, did anyone else have this problem?


	4. Putting the Pieces Together

The drive back to the crime scene seemed so much longer than it took to get from there to the hospital. It felt like hours. Eric's mind wasn't on the investigation, though he wanted more than anything to find the person responsible for doing this to Calleigh. His Calleigh. He kept trying to shake off the thoughts of her, trying to concentrate, but he found it impossible. _Was he really going to be a father? Is it a boy or girl? or one of each? How far along is she? When is her due date?_ He couldn't help but smile thinking of this. Thinking about how great his life could be with her and their child. He continued driving down the long road that led off the highway into the wooded area, the sight bringing back memories of just a few hours ago. He parked the Hummer and went to find Natalia and Trip.

"Eric, we just heard... how is she?" Natalia asked, running up to him.

"She's unconscious. Broken bones..." Eric started to fill her in when Trip interrupted him.

"Sorry to break up the party here, but I need a statement from you" Trip said to Eric condescendingly.

"Whatever you need" He retorted with a nod.

Eric filled Trip in on what he remembered. After he finished, Eric started surveying the area where the body was originally found. He went back to the hummer and got his camera, and took pictures of the scene. He walked the other officers down into the woods where he found Horatio and Calleigh. He photographed the blood on the ground where Riggs was shot and every footprint he could find. Just then his cell phone rang.

"Delko"

"Eric... its been confirmed by Mr. Wolfe, it was in fact a set up. It seems the radio call was not originated from dispatch. It was sent out from a different radio, only to our vehicles." Horatio told Eric, very calmly.

"What does that mean?" Eric asked.

"It means someone is after us. We were targeted Eric."

"Do we know where the radio call came from?"

"Mr. Wolfe.... is working on that as we speak" Horatio said smoothly.

"Are you still at the hospital? With Riggs?" Eric asked, trying to cover the concern in his voice.

"No, Riggs is in surgery to remove the bullet. They are going to call me when he wakes up. We have uniforms guarding his and Calleigh's rooms. I am back at the lab if you need me." Horatio said before he ended the call.

"Thanks...." Eric said under his breath, thankful that someone was watching over her.

"What did H want?" Natalia asked.

"We were... targeted... somehow the killer put out a fake radio call only to our vehicles." Eric filled her in, trying to figure out what it all meant.

"So this guy, the one that Horatio got, Riggs... he shoots our mystery victim, then calls only your two vehicles out to the scene to catch you off guard." Natalia said, trying to put some of the pieces together.

"No, Riggs wasn't our shooter. He didn't have GSR on his hands. There must have been a third..." Eric stated plainly.

"Okay, so the three of them were here, put out the call over a radio, then waited for you to arrive." Natalia said.

"So they were thinking we would go to the body, and they would surprise us-" Eric said.

"But that doesn't make sense Eric...the timeline." Natalia cut back in.

"What doesn't?" he asked.

"Tara said the man was shot only a few minutes before you arrived. Why shoot him so late, after making the fake call? Why risk getting caught by your arrival?" she conjectured.

"You're right..."Eric said as he picked up his phone and dialed Horatio back.

"H, the body, I think he was more than just part of this set-up, I don't think he was an innocent victim." Eric started

"Why's that?" Horatio asked, his curiosity peaked.

"Maybe the victim was one of Riggs's accomplices. I don't know, maybe they got into a fight, and the third man shot him just before we arrived. Then, he ran and Riggs hid, waiting for the right moment. Then, when we split up, he took the body and hid it before he ran into you." Eric

"That would mean the radio could be with our shooter." Horatio replied.

"And he could be anywhere by now." Eric said dejectedly.

"Good work Eric, we'll find the body. We will." he said sharply as he hung up the phone.

The three of them had followed the drag marks down a hill, further into the woods, where they stopped.

"The drag marks from the original crime scene ended abruptly, as if Riggs picked up the body and carried it somewhere before going back to the scene, maybe for Tara...maybe to clean up the scene." Trip said, joining the conversation.

"But H said Riggs didn't have any GSR on his hands. He's NOT our shooter." Eric stated irritated that he had to repeat himself.

"And he was farther into the woods when he hit Calleigh. The third accomplice must have picked him up from here, Riggs couldn't have carried him anywhere," he finished, pointing in the direction where he had found her.

"And I guess he ain't talkin" Trip said sarcastically.

"He is in surgery to remove the bullet." Eric said sharply.

"So where does this... third guy fit in?" Trip asked.

"I don't know..." Eric replied, seeming overwhelmed.

"Wait!" Natalia said excitedly, photographing the spot where the drag marks ended.

"What now?" Trip asked, sounding irritated.

"I think I know what happened..."

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**A/N: I know where I want this to go, but if you are confused by anything...please tell me. I know what I am trying to say, so if you don't, please let me know!!!! Thanks again!!! **


	5. When the Pieces Fit

"I think I know what happened..." Natalia said with a tone of revelation in her voice, looking down intently at the footprint paths.

"Well, you gonna make us guess?" Trip asked.

"Okay, so this whole time, we have been assuming there was a third man...Riggs, the victim and a shooter." Natalia recounted.

"Yeah, we figured the third guy drug the victim out of here after he shot him." Eric stated.

"Okay, so looking at these footprints here...see the drag marks end here, and the footprints head this way" she continued pointing into the woods,

"What if the shooting was a set up too? What if the victim wasn't shot, but it was fake? What if Riggs drug the 'victim' here and then he got up and walked away? That would explain why we haven't found a body." She stated.

"Yeah there's only one set of footprints and they head out, there aren't any heading in." Eric realized.

"And that would make sense why he had such a high temperature when you arrived. He wasn't really dead." She finished, realizing all the pieces were finally coming together.

"So who are we looking for? A walking dead man?" Trip asked, just catching up.

"He must of used fake blood or some sort of special effects to make the gun shot wound look real." Eric filled in. He was happy they finally figured out what was really going on. This whole day had just been weird.

"I'm going to call H and let him know, see if there's anything else he needs me to do..." his voice trailing off as Trip was making notes on the scene and Natalia was still photographing the area, trying to get a good shoe impression.

"H...we were wrong, there were only two people. Our 'victim' was a fake."

"Do we have any leads on him?" Horatio asked.

"Not any solid ones, but I am going back to the hospital to question Riggs when he comes out of surgery, now that we have more information." Eric explained, hoping it would give him a few minutes to check on Calleigh.

"Let me know what you find" Horatio said, ending the call.

"I am going to take these photos back to the lab, I will call you when I know something" Natalia said confidently. And then when she was sure Trip wasn't listening, she said in a low voice,

"Tell her 'hi' for me."

"Yeah," Eric said, blushing.

"I'm glad your a 'one-bracelet' man now," she said slapping his arm with a small laugh.

"Easy!" Eric exclaimed quietly, blushing more before he turned to walk back to his hummer.

The drive back to the hospital was another excruciatingly long one. He was happy they finally figured out what was going on, and happier that this case was one step closer to being closed. When he finally arrived, he parked the vehicle and headed inside...headed to the gift shop. He bought a small flower, something small enough he could hide it in his jacket until he had the chance to see her. There weren't any cards that could possible express in words the feelings he had inside, so he figured to just stick with the small flower. He hid it gently in his jacket then went to find Riggs' room.

"Excuse me, I'm officer Delko, I am looking for a prisoner that should be recovering from surgery, last name's Riggs." He said, flashing his badge to the receptionist.

"Yes...let me see...he should be on the 6th floor, room 629." She said to him with a flirty smile that went totally unnoticed on him.

"Thanks" he muttered as he walked away to find the elevator.

When he got off the elevator on the 6th floor he started to look for room 629, when he noticed the officer detail outside his room. He went up to the officers, flashed his badge and asked how the surgery went.

"Yeah I think it went okay, they removed the bullet, they saved what they could and it was sent to your lab." the younger officer said.

"Is he conscious?" Eric asked.

"Yeah he woke up about 20 minutes ago," the other officer chimed in, "his brother is in there now"

"WHAT? He isn't supposed to have any visitors!" Eric exclaimed.

"The guy showed us his ID, the last names matched. We searched him, he was clean." the younger officer said, sticking up for his actions. But Eric didn't hear it, he was already walking into the room, when suddenly, he stopped cold. The guy in the room looked at Eric, staring him down. Eric recognized his face, and it only took a split second to realize who Riggs' brother really was. He was the 'victim' from the fake crime scene. It was him, staring him down in a hospital room.

"So, why are you after us?" Eric angrily spat out.

"Why are we after you? What kind of question is that?" The man replied with a question, obviously avoiding answering.

Eric pulled out his gun and aimed it at his head.

"WHY ARE YOU AFTER US? WHY DID YOU DO THIS?" He demanded. The other officers now with their weapons trained on him as well.

"Why do you think?" he retorted.

"You put away our brother, Martin Deshant...he was our step-brother, our family. You 'people' put him away. He was only standing up for himself." The man complained.

"Your brother was a felon...he killed three people. He is where he belongs and soon you will be too" Eric rambled off, sounding a bit like Horatio.

"We would have had you too...but you showed up with that hot blonde chic and Officer H...yeah I remember him the most...he showed up with that girl, the one that was a doctor...caught us off guard.."

"Get him out of my sight," Eric commanded the officers, already tired of hearing why they chose to do this.

The younger officer cuffed the man, then read him his rights and escorted him out of the room. Eric called Horatio to fill him in that the case was closed. It only took a minute before he was back up to Calleigh's room, standing nervously outside.

"Here goes nothin," he said to himself as he reached for the flower, then pushed the door open and walked inside.

**A/N okay okay okay, now I am getting to the part of the story I have been trying to get to for like 3 chapters!!! I had no idea this would all be so complicated!!!! Thanks again to all my readers/reviewers =)**


	6. Making it Real

He saw her laying there, she looked like she was asleep. But she heard him come in and stirred just a bit, opening her tired green eyes to see him staring at her.

"Hi," she said quietly.

"Hey, I didn't mean to disturb you," he said with an uncontrollable smile as their eyes locked.

"Its alright," she replied with her southern accent noticeable and a slight look of discomfort on her face.

He walked over and sat down in the same chair he was in a few hours ago, never breaking her gaze. He reached his hand out to give her the flower that he almost forgot he was holding.

"Sorry, its a little...uhh..smushed," he said with a laugh.

She finally smiled back at him and placed the flower on the table next to her.

"Thank you" she managed to say, her heart racing. He stood up from the chair and sat on the edge of the bed, taking her good hand in his, the other hand rubbing her arm. They stayed like that for what felt like an hour.

"So what did you tell Horatio?" she finally inquired.

"I told him about your injuries, your wrist and ribs..." he trailed off with a look of concern on his face.

"Those 'injuries' will be fine, Eric" she said reassuringly. He felt a bit of relief wash over him, hearing her say she was okay. Niether one said anything for a few moments.

"Eric, I'm sorry-"

"Cal, shhh.... its okay" he said soothingly and ran his hand down her cheek.

"I never meant for you to find out like this..." her voice trailing off as her eyes started to fill with tears.

"Cal-"

"Please let me explain." she cut him off, almost begging him to let her continue. He took the cue, closed his mouth and gave a small nod for her to continue.

"Remember Tuesday morning, when I had to go home to get a clean set of clothes, because the ones I had at your house I had already worn?" she said coaxing him to remember.

"Yeah, I didn't want you to have to leave so early, I like my morning shower," he reminisced with a teasing smile.

"Well," she started, trying to get back on the subject, "When I got home, I got sick, but it only lasted a few minutes, then I felt fine. I didn't think anything of it until later that day." she recounted, searching his eyes for any signs of how he was feeling. She continued when she knew he understood what she had told him so far.

"So I started thinking about how I was a little....ummm...late, and then I started to realize that I might be pregnant. So I called my doctor's office and made an appointment for this afternoon." she continued, her emerald eyes never leaving his.

"I didn't want to say anything until I was sure."

"Are you saying....?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed with tears streaming down her cheeks. Eric's face lit up and he leaned in, careful not to hurt her, and wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair. He pulled back and kissed her carefully, but she used her good hand to pull him into her as hard as she could. They stayed like that for a few moments, their actions revealing the feelings that their words could not. Eric pulled back first, smiling as big of a smile as he had, and whispered,

"We're gonna be parents...!"

"Uh-huh" she smiled back, breathlessly, and pulled him back to her again. His lips crashed into hers, mouths opening and passion rising. After a few wonderful moments, he pulled back again, his lips just inches from hers, and looked her directly in the eyes.

"I love you," he breathed into her.

"I love you too" she said smiling back.

He wiped the tears from her face with his thumb before putting his forehead against hers. They sat like that for several moments, neither of them willing to move away. Finally, Eric decided they needed to discuss something neither was willing to discuss before. He sat back a bit, brushing a strand of hair out of her face, his hand lingering on her cheek.

"So, we are gonna have to tell H sooner or later..." he said with a serious implication.

"I know," she said with a melancholy tone in her voice, looking away from him for the first time.

"Maybe we can discuss it later?" she hinted to him.

"Okay, but you know how I feel about secrets." he smiled back to her.

"Well there is one secret that I want you to meet," she said pulling his hand onto her stomach. When he realized what she was doing, he was a bit hesitant and she noticed that.

"What? You've touched me in other places..."she said in a hushed voice.

"Its our baby..." he said with a bit of shakiness in his voice.

"Eric? Are you okay?"

"Its real.... I just mean... after everything today, its just starting to sink in... and putting my hand here," he place his hand onto her lower abdomen,

"It just makes it real...."

Seeing him so hesitant and emotional made her eyes tear up again. She placed her hand over his, watching his actions.

"So do you want a boy or a girl?" she asked smiling, trying to lighten the conversation .

"I don't know..." he seemed caught off guard by the question, still staring at their hands.

"...Maybe we can have a few of each?" he said, looking up at her with a smile.

"Let's see how this one goes first" she said, her hand still laying on his.

"Did Dr. Wheaton say when you will be released?"

"He said maybe tomorrow morning. He wants to monitor my concussion overnight and have the OB come check on the baby in the morning."

"Its amazing that something so small has its own doctor!" he said rubbing her belly.

"Its not going to be small for that long!..."she exclaimed, before realizing that a growing baby meant telling their boss about the forbidden relationship. The thought of that quickly turned her smile into a look of concern.

"We have some time before we have to worry about it," Eric reminded her, almost reading her mind.

"Look, I need to go back to the lab to close out this case." he said regretfully.

"Its closed?" she asked, surprised he hadn't mentioned it earlier.

"Yeah, we got them." he said with a serious nod. He quickly filled her in on the details of the case, the two men and the fake call.

"Will you be back later?" she asked sheepishly.

"I can't think of anywhere else to be" he said, leaning in to kiss her once more.

"I'll be back as soon as I can, do you need me to bring you anything?"

"Just you." she said sweetly.

He smiled as he kissed her forehead before rising off the bed to leave the room. He'd be back as soon as he could, but he knew every moment he spent away from her today was a moment too long.

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**A/N so this was a bit harder for me to write than I thought it would be!!! I originally had wanted to end the story here, but I might keep it going. haven't decided yet! Thanks again to all my readers/reviewers!!!!!**


	7. Ready to go Home

Calleigh was supposed to be released from the hospital the next day. Eric had pleaded with the nurses to let him spend the night with her, using the "someone was after us and I need to protect her" excuse. Luckily for him, a naive nurse said he could stay, but he would have to sleep in the chair. "I'll be checking in on you," she warned him. He didn't care. He would have slept on a concrete floor if it meant staying with her. But the morning came and the doctor's visits went well, and she was to be released in a few hours.

"I forgot to tell you, I told H that I was taking you home since you didn't have a vehicle. He told me to 'make sure you arrived home safely,' and that is my only duty for today" Eric said smiling at her.

"Do you think he knows…about us?" she asked him, almost not wanting to know the answer. It's bad enough having a forbidden relationship with a coworker, but to have your boss know about it, and know that you are lying about it, is worse.

"I don't know Cal. I mean, we have been really careful."

"Not _that_ careful!" she exclaimed sarcastically, referring to their baby.

"I meant about sneaking around."

"I know. But we are CSI's. Finding out people's darkest secrets is what we do for a living. Reading people and their reactions. If they aren't sure about us, they at least have their suspicions by now." She ranted.

"Well even if they do have _their suspicions_, I think we have covered our tracks rather well to this point," he retorted, mocking her a bit to make his point.

He took her good hand in his trying to calm her down. They just had to wait until her discharge paperwork was finished so they could leave.

"Do you want me to leave so you can get changed?" he asked her, trying to be the gentleman.

"Actually, I may need help changing" she admitted sheepishly, holding up her broken wrist.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked.

"My clothes are supposed to be in the bottom drawer over there" she said pointing to the small cabinet.

He went over to retrieve her belongings and brought them back to her. She started to sit up but laid right back against the bed, breathing in pain.

"Easy Cal!" he said trying to help her sit up again.

She held her breath as he used his strong arms to sit her upright. He untied the nightgown she was wearing and started to slip it off her shoulders. She raised her arms out in front of her and looked up at him, releasing the breath she had been holding. He slowly pulled the garment off her arms, trying to be careful not to hurt her, but his motions seemed so seductive. Her breathing had increased a bit as a reaction. Normally, him undressing her led to something a bit more fun. He noticed her shallow breathing and looked down at her, her eyes full of desire for him. And despite their current location, he couldn't resist. He leaned in and kissed her as she freed her arm from the gown and placed it around his neck. He sat down on the bed as his arms wrapped around her back and he realized that she was only wearing a bra. As the kiss progressed, so did his caressing of her, running his hands freely up and down her soft skin. He moved one hand to her side, and then ran it from her waist up to just below her bra. He reluctantly broke his lips away from hers and looked into her eyes, which seemed to be on fire.

"Isn't this how we got ourselves into this…. situation?" he smirked, out of breath. His arms were now on her sides, her arms lying on top of them. He took in the view in front of him and smiled, still trying to catch his breath.

"We can't do this here." He finally managed to say.

"I know," she replied putting her head down in a pout.

"Lets get you changed." He said, trying to change the subject as he picked up her sweater from the day before and slipped it over her head.

"And I won't even tell anyone you wore the same clothes two days in a row!" he joked. She shot him a 'you are so funny' glare as he moved to put her slacks on her.

"This is a first, normally I am taking these off of you…" his voice trailing off as he started to get excited all over again.

"Stop!" she said playfully as his hands were spending too much time straitening her pants over her butt.

"Heh, I can't help it," he breathed, closing his eyes in a failed attempt to calm himself down. Finally, though, she was dressed, and as he helped her lay back against the bed, Dr. Wheaton walked into the room.

"Ready to go home?" He asked with a smile.

"More than you can imagine" Calleigh replied.

"Well the nurses are almost done with your paperwork and the OB has signed you out so as long as you are ready, we can get you moving." He said cheerfully.

"I would like for you to see your regular doctor about your ribs and wrist in about two weeks. Just a check up to see how you are healing. And the OB said you already have an appointment with your regular doctor for that, so I think you are all set! Just remember, you are on bed rest for one week to let those ribs heal."

She rolled her eyes a bit at that statement. She didn't like to be taken care of, even when she was in pain.

"I'll make sure of it. Thank you." Eric said when he realized she was about to bargain her way out of resting.

"Anytime" Dr. Wheaton replied before walking out of the room.

"Shall we?" Eric asked, turning back to her.

"Oh yeah" she said calmly as she reached out her hand for him to help her up. She was more than ready to go home.

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A/N: so I hadn't planned on writing past the last chapter, but I decided I am not ready to start another story yet, so I will continue with this one for little bit. Maybe one or two more chapters, probably of fluffy stuffy, since that seems to be challenging for me to write. Thanks again for reading! =)


	8. The Road Home

Okay, so I find this chapter a bit boring, but I have gone into detail on everything else so far, and I wanted to keep it consistent. (Also I wanted to get in a certain conversation) So here is a not-so-action-packed chapter. I have an idea to keep the story going, for those that are interested. Thanks again for reading!

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They rode in silence for the first few minutes, just listening to the radio. Calleigh squirmed around in her seat trying to get comfortable.

"Why don't you lay the seat back a little? It might be a better position for you" Eric offered. She smiled a bit, wondering why she hadn't thought of that, then slowly dropped her seat back a few clicks.

"Better?" he asked.

"Actually, yeah!" she said sounding surprised.

"So I was thinking….since you are on 'bed rest' for a week….maybe I could stay with you. Ya know, just to help you out."

"I don't know," she said seriously. He didn't look over at her; he just kept his eyes on the road so she couldn't see that he was a bit hurt by her response. But she knew better than that. She reached over and put her hand on his arm.

"Eric…of course you can stay with me. I don't know what I'd do without you!" she said with a big smile, trying not to laugh. He looked over at her and gave her a half smile.

"Well, I am going to need to stop at my place and grab a few things- but if you want I can take you home first and get you settled-"

"Don't be ridiculous!" she said cutting him off.

"We should stop for lunch too, I'm starving and that hospital food was awful," she added, looking at him for a response.

"Yeah, your eating for two now, you need to eat right!" he said, placing his on hers. He rubbed her hand lightly, then massaged up and down her arm, trying to help her relax. The mood in the Hummer had shifted from pensive to comfortable. After the events of the last 24 hours, they finally felt at ease around each other again. He stole a glance of her every few minutes while driving, hoping she didn't notice. And she didn't, but she did fall asleep.

"Cal?"

"Hmmm?" she groggily answered.

"I'm going to run upstairs and pack some stuff, why don't you call and order some take out, we can pick it up on our way back to your place."

"I can come in with you, I'm up…" she replied, still a bit out of it, looking around to see they were at his apartment complex.

"My apartment is two floors up and the elevator still isn't working"

"Still?" she said acting shocked.

"Maybe its time you found a place that does have a working elevator…" she hinted, a bit more awake.

"Yeah, I'll get right on that" he answered, kissing her on the forehead before turning to leave.

After a few minutes, she wasn't sure exactly how long, he returned with a duffle bag.

"Got everything you need in there?" she said jokingly

"Yeah." He huffed, loading the bag in the back seat.

"What did you order?" he asked.

"Chinese. From Biscayne Buffet, I _LOVE_ their egg rolls"

"Ah, cravings have started already, huh?"

"That's not all I have a craving for" she said slyly.

"Oh yeah?" he asked raising his eyebrow at her as he started the car. She looked at him innocently, pretending her words didn't have a sexual meaning.

"Eyes on the road" she joked; secretly wishing her ribs hadn't been broken the day before. She knew he wouldn't do anything to her that would risk further injury, and that included something that she so badly wanted. While she was lost in her own world, thinking about what she couldn't do, Eric was thinking about what she had said at his apartment. Was she hinting that he should move in with her? Did she mean now? After the baby was born? Or was it all just a tease?

**See, I told you it was a bit boring. I'll try to make the next one more interesting, like I said, I have an idea… =)**


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